Online Gamers a Cash Crop for FarmVille

Zynga poised to go public

(NEWSER) - Social gaming juggernaut Zynga is poised to turn all those virtual cows and chickens into billions of real dollars through an initial public offering, sources tell All Things Digital. The company—which says its has around 250 million people a month playing Facebook games like FarmVille, CityVille, and Mafia Wars—was valued at $10 billion in its last round of funding, but is expected to price itself higher for the IPO. More»

Company cooking up social features for smash hit

(NEWSER) - Angry Birds has already conquered the smartphone market and the hugely popular game is now launching itself toward Facebook, reports the Christian Science Monitor. Analysts are skeptical that the puzzle-based game—in which players use a slingshot to fling birds at pigs—will be a good fit, but makers say they plan to add a FarmVille-esque social aspect, which will make the game habitual. More»

Michael Wolff points out that, in the end, Facebook is just an ad-driven site

(NEWSER) - "Facebook is not only on course to go bust, but will take the rest of the ad-supported Web with it." That's the bold statement Michael Wolff makes in the MIT Technology Review today, and he insists he's not exaggerating. In the end, Facebook is just another website selling ads, he explains, and online ad rates are constantly falling. "I don't know anyone in the ad-Web business who isn't engaged in a relentless, demoralizing, no-exit operation to realign costs with falling per-user revenues." More»

Feds want you to plan what happens to your online profile

(NEWSER) - Social networking has already changed our lives; now, officials want us to consider its implications after our death. On its blog, the US government is calling on Americans to create "social media wills," which detail our wishes for the future of the huge range of online accounts we all have these days. Email and Facebook are just the beginning: The average person has 25 password-protected accounts, a law professor tells Mashable . About half a million Facebook users reportedly died last year. More»

Olympics protected by stringent branding laws

(NEWSER) - The Olympics are headed to London this summer, but visitors and athletes alike better beware of what they post online, reports Mashable . London has passed legislation ahead of the games to penalize people who violate the games' official branding. Legally speaking, this would include:

• Athletes posting media of themselves with products that are not Olympics sponsors
• Fans uploading their own photos or video of the games
• Businesses attracting customers with official Olympics nomenclature, like "2012 Games"